Obituary of Charles Cohen

Charles "Charlie" Cohen, 91, husband of Cecilia Cohen, passed away on October 2, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia. Charlie was born in Hurleyville, NY on October 12, 1927 and grew up on a small farm there.

He graduated from Hurleyville High School in 1944. His family ran one of the hotels, The Butler Lodge, in Hurleyville during the hey days of Sullivan County. After marrying Ceil, they moved to Woodbourne, NY. Charlie began his long years of service to Sullivan County in 1965 when he joined the Woodbourne Fire Department. He became a member of the First Aid Squad in 1967 and served as Captain of the squad from 1979 to 1993. He was once honored for covering more than 900 career calls and held the record at that time for the total number of calls. He continued to help people needing ambulance service for many years after that until age limited his ability to continue. He was elected to the Board of Commissioners for the Fire Department in 1980 and served as Chairman of the Board for over 30 years. According to Ceil, he took better care of the firehouse than of his own house and in 2000 the Social Hall was renamed in his honor. Charlie was also very active with the Fallsburg Democratic Party and served as a Delegate and then Committeeman from Woodbourne. For many years he also served as the Chairman for the Board of Assessment Review for the Town of Fallsburg.

In 2009, Charlie received Congressional Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to his community. In 2015, the Firemen's Association of the State of New York issued a proclamation honoring Charlie for 50 years of service to the Volunteer Fire Service.

During his younger years, Charlie coached and managed a Fallsburg Little League Team, the Indians to championships 4 years in a row. He always attended all of his son's events and one year was recognized as Fan of the Year for Fallsburg Central High School. He was a member of the Loch Sheldrake/Hurleyville Rod and Gun Club where he served as secretary/treasurer for over 25 years. Charlie was an active member of Congregation B'Nai Israel of Woodbourne where he served as President for several years. He was a member of the Hurleyville Synagogue and was also an active member of the Fallsburg Lions Club. He worked at Channel Masters in Ellenville, NY and at the Monticello Racetrack prior to his retirement.

Charlie is survived by his wife of 67 years, Ceil Cohen; son, Morris Cohen and his wife Lisa, of Augusta, GA; his son David Cohen and his wife Caron, of Frisco, TX. Charlie has one surviving sister, Rita Mandel. He was preceded in death by his parents, Pincus and Pauline Cohen, as well as a brother Harold Cohen and a sister, Minnie Billig. He was the proud grandfather of four grandchildren, Melissa White (Thomas), Jessica Cohen, Lee Cohen (Vanessa) and Abbey Cohen. Charlie was an adoring great—grandfather to Ethan White, who he claimed to have the strongest grip of any baby he'd ever seen!

Charlie took care in feeding the birds and loved to see the chipmunks and deer in his back yard. He loved dogs and always delighted in seeing his grand pups. He loved the New York Yankees, the New York Giants and chocolate ice cream but more than anything else, he took great pride in his family and loved them without limits. Charlie never let distance keep him from missing an important event in his grandchildren's lives and on occasion, he was known to transport snow balls in a cooler to Georgia so that his southern granddaughters could experience the joy of snowball fights. Charlie made a point to tell his family several times, including not long before he passed that "he had a beautiful wife, two wonderful sons and daughters-in –law, a grandson, three granddaughters, and one great-grandson. I'm the luckiest man alive". He will surely be missed by his family who will keep his memory alive through his stories and his jokes that he loved to tell.

The family will receive friends at the Charles Cohen Social Hall in the Woodbourne Firehouse on Sunday, October 6, 2019 from 12:00pm-1:00pm.  A Firematic Service will begin at  1:00pm, followed by the funeral service. Interment will follow at Anschei Hurleyville Cemetery

Arrangements under the care of Colonial Memorial Funeral Home, for further information call 845-434-7363 or visit www.colonialbryantfuneralhome.com